City water conflict

Bodies serve the same constituents but have different goals

Published: Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, March 22, 2013 at 5:16 p.m.

The Spartanburg City Council and the Commission of Public Works are elected by and serve the same constituents, the residents of the city of Spartanburg. There should be common ground between the two bodies.

The commission also serves its water customers who live outside the city, but its members are primarily accountable to the city residents who elect them. Despite this common ground, the two bodies are in complete disagreement over a fee the commission has paid the city in previous years.

The agreement that covered that fee has expired. The city wants the fee maintained or even increased. The commission wants to substantially reduce the fee. Months of negotiations have failed, and last week the city appealed to the public for support in its drive to reinstate the fee.

It should be noted that the city went about this course in the wrong way. A letter signed by all City Council members was emailed to many members of the community, and a video featuring council members was placed on the city’s website.

City officials have admitted to discussing this matter in closed sessions, and it’s obvious that at some point the council decided to take a course of action, sending out a letter and appealing for public support. But the matter was never discussed in open session, and no vote was taken in open session. This was a violation of the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

That fact aside, now that the city has decided to let its constituents know about this issue, it is hoping they will pressure the commission to resume the fee at or close to its former level of $1.4 million.

This is a significant amount. It is enough to make a real difference in the city’s budget or in a commission project.

It is a shame that the situation has gotten to this point. City Manager Ed Memmott is correct when he says it doesn’t speak well of these two bodies that they’ve been unable to come to an agreement. They clearly have different goals and priorities, but they serve the same constituents. They owe it to those constituents to take a fresh look at the matter and try to reach consensus.

One thing is clear from this situation. Separating the city’s water and sewer utilities from the city itself many decades ago was a disastrous decision. It is the single greatest factor that has kept the city from expanding its limits to serve the metropolitan area. While other cities use their utilities to convince nearby landowners to annex into the city, Spartanburg can’t.

The city’s unnatural boundaries constrain its finances. The fee under dispute was meant to reimburse the city for that problem, but the damage done to the city by limiting its growth goes beyond the financial. It has affected quality of life and economic development.

It’s too late to avoid that damage now. City officials and commission members must deal with Spartanburg’s current structure. And they have to make another effort in good faith to resolve this dispute. To help inform our readers about this situation, the Herald-Journal and WSPA will hold a public forum in the Herald-Journal’s building downtown at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Members from the Commission of Public Works and the city will present their positions on this fee, and members of the public will be able to ask questions.

<p>The Spartanburg City Council and the Commission of Public Works are elected by and serve the same constituents, the residents of the city of Spartanburg. There should be common ground between the two bodies.</p><p>The commission also serves its water customers who live outside the city, but its members are primarily accountable to the city residents who elect them. Despite this common ground, the two bodies are in complete disagreement over a fee the commission has paid the city in previous years.</p><p>The agreement that covered that fee has expired. The city wants the fee maintained or even increased. The commission wants to substantially reduce the fee. Months of negotiations have failed, and last week the city appealed to the public for support in its drive to reinstate the fee.</p><p>It should be noted that the city went about this course in the wrong way. A letter signed by all City Council members was emailed to many members of the community, and a video featuring council members was placed on the city's website.</p><p>City officials have admitted to discussing this matter in closed sessions, and it's obvious that at some point the council decided to take a course of action, sending out a letter and appealing for public support. But the matter was never discussed in open session, and no vote was taken in open session. This was a violation of the state's Freedom of Information Act.</p><p>That fact aside, now that the city has decided to let its constituents know about this issue, it is hoping they will pressure the commission to resume the fee at or close to its former level of $1.4 million.</p><p>This is a significant amount. It is enough to make a real difference in the city's budget or in a commission project.</p><p>It is a shame that the situation has gotten to this point. City Manager Ed Memmott is correct when he says it doesn't speak well of these two bodies that they've been unable to come to an agreement. They clearly have different goals and priorities, but they serve the same constituents. They owe it to those constituents to take a fresh look at the matter and try to reach consensus.</p><p>One thing is clear from this situation. Separating the city's water and sewer utilities from the city itself many decades ago was a disastrous decision. It is the single greatest factor that has kept the city from expanding its limits to serve the metropolitan area. While other cities use their utilities to convince nearby landowners to annex into the city, Spartanburg can't.</p><p>The city's unnatural boundaries constrain its finances. The fee under dispute was meant to reimburse the city for that problem, but the damage done to the city by limiting its growth goes beyond the financial. It has affected quality of life and economic development.</p><p>It's too late to avoid that damage now. City officials and commission members must deal with Spartanburg's current structure. And they have to make another effort in good faith to resolve this dispute. To help inform our readers about this situation, the Herald-Journal and WSPA will hold a public forum in the Herald-Journal's building downtown at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Members from the Commission of Public Works and the city will present their positions on this fee, and members of the public will be able to ask questions.</p>